Some staff members from the City of Malibu Parks and Recreation Department got a little change of scenery last week.

When the instructor for the City’s volleyball summer camp called in a family emergency on July 27 that would prevent her from teaching the summer camp, recreation coordinator Katie Gallo and other staff members stepped up to keep the camp going.

“We had 14 kids preregistered for the camp going into Monday, and while we never want to cancel any camp, we especially didn’t want to cancel one with that many kids already signed up,” she said.

“Thankfully there were so many people on staff who had played volleyball competitively at some point in their lives and that we all came together,” Gallo said. “Everyone had a different skill set: Some were setters, some were hitters and some were passers. It worked out that we would have different coaches come out on different days and teach specific skills.”

As for working with each other, Gallo said the City staff members appreciated the temporary relief from office life.

“It gave us a break from what our normal responsibilities might be in the office,” she said. “A lot of us haven’t really worked together in that way, so it was nice to see different sides of people and the different strengths they had by working in a camp atmosphere.”

Throughout the week, Gallo said enrollment for the camp increased by five children

“Even though it was crazy to put all together, we put together a good product and it meant a lot to us that everyone wanted to come back during the rest of the week,” she said.